Each year, more than 250,000 to 300,000 people
– mostly female teens or college-age athletes –
experience an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament)
injury. Teen girls and women are three times more
likely than their male counterparts to experience
this type of knee injury.
Those who sustain ACL injuries often require
surgical intervention and extensive physical
therapy to recover, and one in four eventually
experiences a second ACL injury.
What if such injuries could be prevented in
the first place? That’s the goal of a new program
developed in 2013 by the Rehabilitation
Department at Miami Children’s. Jump for Sports
TM
is an eight-week program of neuromuscular
and plyometric training designed to improve
performance and prevent ACL injuries.
Designed for athletes participating in soccer,
volleyball, cheerleading, dance, skating, and
basketball, Jump for Sports
TM
incorporates a
dynamic warm up; neuromotor training; and agility
and resistance training exercises. The focus is on
performance enhancement through improving
leg strength, improving balance and agility, and
improving jump mechanics with emphasis on
safe techniques.
For patients who have already suffered an ACL
injury, the team has also developed Jump for
Return to Sports
TM
to help retrain patients.
For more information on both programs, please
call 786-MCH-JUMP (786-624-5867).
Provide
“Our rehabilitation
teams – in collaboration
with our orthopedic
surgeons – provide
therapy for a great
many young athletes
recovering from ACL
injuries. I applaud their
leadership in seeking
to prevent these
painful injuries through
education and outreach.”
Nancy Humbert,
Senior Vice President of
Ambulatory Services
Preventing ACL Injuries
in Young Athletes
39
38
